Can't Buy Me Love
by klemonademouth
Summary: Al needs some prodding from Amandine Thomas to figure things out about himself, Scorpius and Rose have a devious plan up their sleeves, and Lily has gaydar that nobody can hide from. Albus/Scorpius, companion fic to my Teddy/James fic. SLASH.
1. Invisibility and Uncomfortable Surprises

**A/N: Finally, right? I know that's exactly what you all are thinking. Well, my excuse is that I'M BUSY. Give it a rest. Anyway, here's the first chapter of my AlbusxScorpius story. It's a sort of companion story to "Any Way The Wind Blows, Doesn't Really Matter", but obviously that story doesn't have to be read to read this story. The other story is a Teddy Lupin/ James Potter Jr. story, and there will be mentions of that pairing in this story.**

**A couple warnings: This story contains SLASH! If you have not yet learned to appreciate the wonderful goodness that is boylove, then don't read this story. I don't appreciate flames and if you're going to flame a story simply for being slash, go away and don't come back. We don't want you here.**

**That said, I ALWAYS appreciate constructive criticism! And I love reviews, even if they simply say "love it" or whatnot. **

**Another warning: for those loyal fans who read "Any Way The Wind Blows, Doesn't Really Matter", you may remember that I updated just about every single day. Unfortunately, that won't be possible for this story. With that story, I already had the entire story written out before I even posted a chapter, and it was also summer holidays. Now that school has kicked up again, I am considerably more busy (especially with Cross Country) so I would appreciate your patience. A bonus is that these chapters are longer than my other story's chapters, so brilliant, right? Please continue to review and bear with me if I seem to be taking a long time. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

_**December, 2020**_

_**4th year**_

"Get the _hell_ away from me, Dawson!"

"Ah, come on, Weasley, don't be like that..."

Al winced as the sound of shattering glass filled the half-full common room.

"What'd I miss?" Scorpius asked, dropping onto the couch beside him and pulling a roll of parchment out of his bag.

"Nothing much. It's a re-run fight."

They both ducked as another glass ornament flew over their heads.

"Which one? The stop-hating-Malfoy-you-git, or the get-out-of-my-personal-space, or the stop-treating-the-world-like-your-personal-playground, or the I'm-just-annoyed-so-I'm-taking-it-out-on-you fight?"

"Something about Dawson getting in her personal space, blah blah blah," Al said disinterestedly, leaning over and making a few marks on Scorpius' divination essay. "Let's talk about something else," he said. "I'm sick of hearing of Rose and Miles' issues with each other."

Scorpius laughed. "Okay. Are you staying for the holidays?"

Al smiled. "No, actually. I'm going home. I haven't seen Teddy since last Christmas and I miss Mum and Dad."

"Oh." Scorpius' forehead wrinkled a little bit, and the corners of his lips turned down. "Mum and Dad are going to France on Christmas so I signed on to stay."

Al rested his arm across Scorpius' shoulders. "Actually, you're going to come stay with us after your parents leave."

Scorpius' eyebrows shot up.

"I mean, you'll be spending Christmas Eve and part of Christmas with your parents," Al said. "McGonagall says you can't come to our house until they leave, even if they say it's okay?"

Scorpius stared at Al. "That makes absolutely no sense."

"It's McGonagall. Since when has she ever made sense?"

"Good point." Scorpius leaned into Al's arm. "So I can really come over on Christmas? Your parents would be okay with that?"

Al grinned. "Of course, Dad loves you. And Mum can't wait for you to cook, because you know she burns the meal every Christmas."

"Just like you burn the tree every year?" Scorpius asked slyly, watching as Al's face flushed a delicate pink.

"That's not my fault," Al said, withdrawing his arm from Scorpius' shoulders and crossing it with the other arm across his chest. He glared at the fireplace.

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something teasing back, but was interrupted by the slight distraction of Rose plopping into the spot between them.

Scorpius grinned slightly. "Yelled yourself out, my child?"

Rose shoved him, scowling. "Dawson is such a _prat_!"

She looked toward her cousin for agreement. He held up his hands in defense. "Don't look at me. I like the bloke. He's James' best friend."

Rose snorted. "Teddy is James' best friend."

Al shrugged. "In any case, you could at least try to get along with him. He's actually a decent person, once you get to know him."

"I don't want to get to know him," Rose said, crossing her arms moodily and staring into the crackling fire, just as Al had been minutes ago. "Not when he keeps bloody teasing me."

"You know he only does that because he fancies you."

"He's _fifteen_, Al, I honestly doubt that he's only teasing me because he _fancies_ me. That's what Mum used to tell me about boys who teased me when I was in nursery school."

"It's true, though," a voice called from across the room.

Rose, clearly recognizing the voice, flipped the owner a two-fingered salute before she'd even turned around to glare at him.

James was lounging at a table with his arm around Michelle Turner, who was blushing a sort of tickle-me-pink color. Al felt that slight twinge of jealousy at looking at him that he always did. While Al had inherited the inarticulation and awkwardness of his father, James had only inherited their father's hair. Instead of all of their father's worst character flaws that seemed to shine through on Al, James had gotten the good looks and charming attitude of his namesake. Firelight played lightly over his highlights and defined biceps, and lit up his laughing hazel brown eyes. He was lounging back with the sort of elegance Al had never been able to achieve.

"James?" Rose inquired politely, though she looked a bit murderous.

"Miles fancies you, Rose," James drawled, releasing Michelle and sauntering over to them in a way that only James Potter could saunter.

"Well, does he _know_ that I'm dating Scorpius?" Rose hissed, through gritted teeth.

Both James and Al froze, their jaws dropping. "What?" they asked at the same time.

Rose gave Scorpius an exasperated look. "You didn't tell Albus?"

"I meant to, mate, I forgot," Scorpius said, smiling sheepishly at his friend.

"No problem, Scor, that's great!" He said, trying to ignore the slight twisting in his stomach that said something was wrong.

Rose was beaming all of the sudden, her hand clasping Scorpius'. She was more prone to mood swings than the rest of them, being a girl.

Al caught James' eye and they both shook their heads. _Girls,_ their silent communication seemed to say.

"No," James said to Rose, answering her question. "I'm sure that Miles doesn't know you're dating Scorpius, considering that even Al didn't know, and when did this happen, anyway?"

"This morning," Rose said, sharing a secret glance with Scorpius that made Al feel a little left out. Was this how his Dad had felt when Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had gotten together? He snapped back into the conversation when Scorpius poked him in the side.

There was a slam from above that made everyone in the common room jump, including Lysander, who was buried in paperwork in the corner of the room.

Lorcan poked his head round the corner of the stairwell as footsteps began to thunder down the stairs.

"Have any of you seen Lysander?" he asked, looking at Al, James, Scorpius, and Rose.

"I think he's behind that gigantic mound of parchment over in the corner," Scorpius said, grinning. The other three laughed.

"Thank you," Lorcan said. "And by the way, Rose, that's Miles thundering down the stairs right now. I'd... erm... hide." He withdrew again.

Rose looked around frantically. There was no place to hide anywhere near her spot on the squashy sofa in front of the fireplace. The portrait hole was too far away to make an escape. She looked beseechingly at James, who sighed.

"Fine," he said, drawing his invisibility cloak out of his robes and throwing it over her head, rolling his eyes at Scorpius and Albus.

Scorpius slipped his Slytherin tie off from around his neck as Miles appeared around the corner of the boy's stairwell. Miles was the only person in Gryffindor house who still cared whether or not there was a Slytherin in their common room.

Miles' eyes landed on James. "Hey, mate."

James lifted his hand in greeting. "Fancy a run to the kitchen?"

"I am a bit peckish." Miles looked around, then lowered his voice. "Did I really upset Rose before?"

Beside Al, Rose stiffened in surprise.

James flicked a glance over to where Al and Scorpius were sitting, beside an invisible Rose.

"Erm... more irritated, I think."

Miles ran one hand through his hair. "Bugger," he swore. "I mean to get along with her, James, I really do. But something about her... something about the way she reacts makes me always want to goad her."

Rose's nails clenched into Al's arm painfully and he gasped, his eyes watering. He quickly pretended to be looking at the essay he was writing when Miles and James glanced at him. He kicked her in the shin, hard, when they turned away.

"That's not the best way to get with her, mate," James said.

"You don't think I know that?" Miles shook his head. "Never mind, I sound like a sodding poof. Let's just go to the kitchens." He nodded at Al and Scorpius. "Al, ... Malfoy." his eyes landed for a moment on the wadded-up tie in Scorpius' hands, then he strode away.

James followed him, reaching over at the last minute and plucking the invisibility cloak off Rose's head. She gasped, cowering against Al and Scorpius to avoid Miles' gaze, but the two older boys were already climbing out the portrait hole.

The portrait swung shut again, and they all looked at each other.

"Told you he fancied you," Al said, quietly enough that the buzzing conversation around them blocked his words from all but Scorpius and Rose.

"Shut up," Rose muttered. She was glowing a fetching shade of tomato-red.

Scorpius was grinning. "He liiiiiikes you," he sang, poking Rose in the ribs.

Rose grabbed his finger, twisting it away from her body, then giggling as he caught her up in a hug. "Shut up," she said, but she was beginning to smile.

Al began to feel a bit left out. "I'm just going to go to the dorm then. I'll meet you at the usual time to study, Scor?"

"Right," Scorpius said, before pouncing on Rose and tickling her.

Al swallowed, looking away. "See you later, then," he said weakly, and hurried away.

Once in the dorm, he leaned against the door and let out a deep breath. Nathan was lying on his bed, a book dangling from his hand, snoring. His glasses were still on and he was still fully dressed, shoes and all. Al snorted.

He threw himself down on his bed, staring up at the dark red draperies that hung so comfortingly above him.

Rose and Scorpius were dating.

He couldn't wrap his head around the idea. He was happy for them, of course- what sort of friend and cousin would he be if he wasn't?- but also hesitant about the idea for a few reasons. The first and most obvious one being the question of what would happen when the two lovebirds broke up. Would they stay friends? Or would Al be forced to choose between his two best friends in the world?

The second, and less obvious reason Al was hesitant was because he had just never _seen_ it. He'd never seen any sort of feeling between Rose and Scorpius that gave them away as more than simply platonic friends, never looked at them and thought: _Wow, they like each other, _or_ Wow, they'd make a good couple._

He must've fallen asleep, lying there on his bed, because when he next opened his eyes the sky outside the window was dark and Nathan was gone.

He checked the time on his watch. It was only 17:22, which meant he still had 38 minutes before he had to meet Scorpius in the library. He tidied up his room, throwing random things into his trunk he thought he might need when he left for the Holidays the next day.

The door behind him opened, and snicked shut. The bedsprings nearest to Al creaked.

"'Lo, Coby," he said, digging through his trunk for his sneakascope.

No reply.

Al turned around to see what was keeping Coby from speaking back to him (hexed, maybe?) and nearly had a heart attack.

A completely naked Amandine Thomas was sitting on Coby's bed, grinning sweetly at him.

He fell back against his bed.

_What the hell...?_

"I've been trying to get your attention for weeks," she said, softly, advancing on him. "I need a favor."

"Wh-what?" He stammered, his heart racing.

She smiled a slow, seductive smile. "See, my friends made me a bet I couldn't get into your pants before this week was out. And it's Saturday now, you see, so I haven't much time. I bet them that if I offered- no relationship required- you'd say-"

"-I don't- I have to-"

"Shhh." She stood up, crossing over to place a finger on his lips. To his horror, she climbed onto his lap.

Her body was all _wrong_. Too soft, and curvy, and squishy and jiggly. He sucked in another panicked breath. How in _Merlin's_ name would he get out of this one?  
In a sudden burst of relieved clarity, Scorpius flashed across Albus' mind. The perfect excuse.

"I have to meet Scorpius, Amandine," Al said, trying to push her off without touching her in any inappropriate places.

He was surprised, but immensely relieved when Amandine pulled herself off his lap and stood in front of him, arms folded. He averted his eyes politely, embarrassed.

"That's it," she said.

His eyes flew back to her face unintentionally. She was scrutinizing him.

"Do you even find me attractive, Albus?" she asked abruptly.

"What?" Al stammered. "I... er... you're the best looking girl in our year."

"That didn't answer my question," Amandine said, her eyebrows lifting up. She tapped her bare foot against the floor, waiting.

"No," Al said, "I just- well-"

"I'm offering you no-strings sex, Al," she said matter-of-factly. "You're turning me down because you're gay. Or a woman," she added as an afterthought, then unexpectedly reached forward and gave Albus' crotch a squeeze. He jumped, turning redder than before.

She winked. "No, definitely gay." she headed toward the door and slipped back on the silky robe she'd left there before she'd accosted Albus. She paused at the door, and turned. "If it makes you feel better, he feels the same way about you, I'm sure of it."

She was gone before Albus could even ask who she meant.

He fell back on his bed, his brain buzzing.

She couldn't be right. She just couldn't be. Al pushed her off because he didn't want her... right? Because he didn't want to have sex this young?

No. Every night he wanked to some fantasy, thinking about how much he'd like it if a girl came and offered him what they were clearly offering Nathan, Coby, Seth, and Sean.

But what he hadn't noticed before Amandine attacked him was that his imaginary lover was frustratingly ambiguous. They never had a face, or a clearly defined body, just a spectral aura with ghostly hands that never really helped Al much with the frustration that sometimes threatened to choke him.

He slammed his fist into the pillow. Just because he'd turned down Amandine Thomas, did that necessarily mean that he was gay? No. He'd never felt anything real for anyone- male or female. He'd tried so hard to be attracted to any of the girls he'd dated- but had felt only cold apathy.

He buried his face into the soft crimson fabric of his pillow and yelled until his throat felt hoarse.

He heard a cough from the doorway, and sat up.

Nathan Detroit and Coby Finnegan were standing in the doorway, staring at him.

Al grinned pleasantly at them, stuck his hands into the pockets of his robes, and headed out the dormitory door, whistling.

Anyway, Amandine wasn't the brightest lumos in the wand-shop. She couldn't be right, because Albus most definitely _was not gay._

**A/N: Please review!**

**A few things: In Any Way The Wind Blows, Doesn't Really Matter, a reviewer called Le Reves was the only person to catch the fact that I accidentally changed the last name of the character Miles (James' friend) from Finch-Fletchley to Dawson. **

**The reason for this was because when I originally wrote the first chapter, Miles was meant to be much more of a minor character than he ended up being, and I filled him in with a last name that has already been used in the Harry Potter series (we assume that he is Justin Finch-Fletchley's son). However, once he became more important in the development of the plot, I began to see him as a different person and felt he deserved his own last name. I have very important reasons for choosing the last name "Dawson", as you will see later on :) I never went back to change his last name to Dawson, as you can see in my other story. And now I'm too lazy to do it, so have fun being confused :)**


	2. Protein Coins and Plotting with Rose

**A/N: Chapter 2 is up relatively fast, because inspiration kept me going up until chapter 4 today. I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with that, but we'll see.**

**It would be great to get more reviews! (nudge, nudge).**

_**December 2020**_

_**4th year**_

Scorpius checked his watch again. 18:46.

He leaned his head back on his hand, and resumed irritably tapping his quill against the table. Al was over a half-hour late. He sighed and begun to pack up his bag.

Al skidded into the library. "Merlin, Scor, I'm so sorry."

Scorpius folded his arms. "I blew off time with Rose to study with you, Al. You'd better have a bloody good excuse."

"I know, and I'm so sorry. Just let me explain, okay?"

Al's green eyes were shining hopefully at Scorpius, and he sighed, defeated. "Fine. Explain yourself."

Al sat down, and Scorpius followed suit.

He was surprised to see that Al was actually blushing. He was blushing! It was a fetching color that made the breath catch in Scorpius' throat and his heartbeat quicken.

"So, er..." Al said, a bit uncomfortably. "Don't laugh, okay?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "No promises. You forget that I'm a Slytherin, not a Hufflepuff. The Sorting Hat put me in that house for a reason, you know, not just because I look particularly good in the color green."

"Okay," Al said, ignoring that last part and twisting his hands together. "Well. So. I was tidying my room, you know, and I still had a bit of time before I had to meet you."

Scorpius nodded.

"And... well..."

Scorpius was delighted to see Albus flush an even deeper color.

"Amandine Thomas came into the room."

Well, that wasn't that odd, Scorpius thought. After all, Sean Thomas was Amandine's twin brother. She often visited the Gryffindor boy's 4th year dorm to talk and hang out with her brother's friends, or so Albus had told him before.

"Naked."

Now _that_ was odd. Scorpius sat upright.

"You didn't," he said.

"I didn't," Al said, and Scorpius sighed in relief.

"What, then?"

"I didn't, and um... er... she... she said something that made me think. About certain things about myself."

Scorpius' heart was beating faster. "What?" he could feel his pulse thrumming in the vein in his neck, in his wrist.

"I didn't _like_ her, Scorpius." Al burst out. "She has a beautiful body but there was nothing there when I looked at her, nothing physically or mentally or emotionally, it wasn't as if I was trying to keep myself from jumping her- I felt absolutely nothing. How could I feel nothing with the best looking girl in our year, Scor?"

"Well, that doesn't mean-" Scorpius began, and Al banged his fist down onto the table, startling several sheets of paper which fluttered to the floor.

"Yes, Scor, it does! I've never felt that way about anyone, a girl, a boy... Amandine said I have to be gay or a woman. And I'm obviously not a woman so am I gay? I don't know! I've never fancied a girl, but I've never fancied a boy either! I'm pathetically ambiguous!"

Scorpius grabbed his arm. "Albus, relax."

He felt the muscles of Al's bicep shift underneath his hands as his friend turned to look at him.

"I never liked _anybody_ before I liked Rose," he said. _Before I liked you._ "You're just waiting for the right girl, Al. Or bloke."

The tension slowly drained out of Al's shoulders. "You think so?"

"I do," Scorpius said, firmly, his voice wavering a bit towards the end when he noticed for the first time exactly how close together he and Al were.

Scorpius' breath caught for a second time, and after a moment, Al's eyes unmistakeably darted to Scorpius' lips then back up to his eyes again.

Al wrenched his arm out of Scorpius' hand. "I'm hungry," he mumbled, and Scorpius watched in bewildered astonishment as Al grabbed his bag, turned tail, and fairly fled out of the row of books and out of the library.

He could have been standing there for ages, shellshocked, before something burned hot in his pocket. Rose was looking for him. He scooped up his bag and reached into his robes, withdrawing what appeared to be, in size, shape, and color, a galleon. It wasn't. He raised the coin to his eyes to read the lettering around the edge with the eyesight that he believed to be getting poorer and poorer, the more he hung out with blind-as-a-bat Albus Potter.

_R.o.R, 19:00, _it read.

He was pacing the corridor outside the Room of Requirement at 18:59 when Rose showed up.

"You're early," she shot out, grinning cheekily.

"You're early," he said back.

They walked through the door together, throwing their bags on the large purple couch that dominated the greater part of the room, and Scorpius sprawled out on a large green cushion tossed casually on the stone floor.

"So, you called?" he asked, flicking the fake coin at her.

Back in their second year, Rose has apparently gotten into a locked box in her mum's desk labeled "D.A." Under a few defence books and a scroll of parchment listing a bunch of people's names- some of whom had died in the war- she'd found four round, gold galleons. Or so she'd thought. The way she explained it, she'd been surprised (but delighted) to learn that in order to use the galleons, one only had to rub the coin and say a time and place out loud, and it would appear on the other coins. One thing she'd never answered Scorpius was when he asked the question how she'd figured this out.

Rose had only shared this discovery recently with Scorpius, and even then, not with Al. It was a crucial part of their plan.

"Why did Al just go storming past me in the hallway, muttering and cursing? He didn't even notice me."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "You really want to know?"

Rose nodded.

"Then you might want to sit down," he said, gesturing to a gold cushion in front of him. "This will take a long, deep discussion."

Rose raised her eyebrows, but plopped herself on the cushion, crossed her legs, and looked expectantly at Scorpius.

So he told her. He told her everything Al had said, and everything he had done, up until the very moment that he had gone running out the door. When he finished, he was surprised to see a smile uncoiling on Rose's face.

"What?" he asked, uncertain of whether he actually wanted to know what was going on inside her head.

"Don't you see, Scor?" she sighed. "No, I suppose you don't, you daft idiot." she smiled fondly.

"Thanks," he said, sarcastically.

"Al is confused." Rose said, and sat back, looking satisfied, as if she'd just given Scorpius the best news of his life.

He arched one eyebrow. "Er, yeah, I'd figured that out myself."

Rose sighed again. "No. I told you that you were daft. I mean he's sexually confused. You know. Questioning."

The other eyebrow went up.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"He's frustrated because Amandine made him think of the fact that he's never appreciated a girl's body before. And now he's eyeing you up?" Rose grinned. "My bet is, Amandine brought up something about you to him and he just didn't tell you that part." she snorted. "Plus, did you see him in the Common Room when you and I were being all..." she waved her hand in a vague hand gesture that was supposed to mean something.

"He was just uncomfortable," Scorpius said.

"He was _jealous_," Rose said, smugly. "He just hasn't clued into that fact yet."

Scorpius knew he was playing the idiot. He knew exactly what Rose was getting at. Was he really so desperate that he needed reassurance from her?

Apparently so. "Jealous? Of what?"

She looked at him in a way that made him sure that she knew exactly what he was doing.

"Well, what the hell?" Scorpius said. "It's not like I've even got a bloody chance. He could have whoever he wanted, gay or straight. Have you seen how everyone falls at his feet? And he doesn't even notice, the stupid tosser. Doesn't see how the girls swoon when he plays Quidditch, doesn't see how they all run to do things for him just so he'll smile at them with those green eyes-"

"And what makes you think you haven't got girls falling all over you?" Rose demanded.

Scorpius once again raised one eyebrow at her.

"Trust me," she said, "I see what you don't. You're every bit as fancied and as good looking as he is. Just in a different way."

Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"You may not have shaggy black hair or 'piercing' green eyes," she chuckled, "but you've got impeccable blond hair and the prettiest gray eyes I've ever seen."

He could feel himself blushing, and reminded himself angrily that _Malfoys don't blush_.

"If you weren't a complete and utter ponce, I'd probably shag you," Rose finished, grinning at him.

He shoved her off her cushion.

"Al loves you, Scor," Rose said, smiling at her best friend. "I've seen the way he looks at you- he doesn't look at anyone else that way. He's just denying it to himself. He'll come around eventually, and when he does-" she trailed off.

"Yeah, sure, I know," Scorpius said.

Rose stood up, checking her watch. "It's past dinner, Scor, you coming?"

He waved her off. "I already ate."

He watched, slightly amused, as she unpopped one button on her school shirt, messed up her hair, and rubbed her fingers across her lips to redden them. The Room of Requirement was not shown on the Marauder's Map, but Al could have seen them outside it together. Logically, there was only one thing they could be doing in there- what all couples who knew about the room used it for.

She winked. "See you around, Scor."

Once she was gone, he let his mind wander. He and Rose had started "dating" to make Al jealous, because Rose knew (had known since last year, actually) that Scorpius was about as gay as a maypole.

In four days, he'd be at the Potter's house. He'd be sharing a room with Al, alone. And more than likely they wouldn't be interrupted by Al's siblings. Lily was spending most of break at Lucy's house, and James... well, James had Teddy over, and Scorpius would have to have been completely blind not to see exactly what Teddy was to James, and what James was to Teddy. Oblivious though Al may be, Scorpius was not.

And what could Scorpius do, with all that alone time?  
Push his boundaries to the limits, was the answer. See how uncomfortable he could make Al.

Scorpius yawned, then thought to himself how absolutely splendid it would be to have a bed right now. In the next moment he realized he was somehow already on one. Sometimes the Room of Requirement was so bloody useful.

His trunk was already packed, far away in his dorm, and his last thought before he fell asleep was how lovely it would be to have Christmas with such a large family as the Potter-Weasley clan, rather than his own small 3-person one...

"Wake UP!"

Scorpius' eyes shot open as he felt his whole body shake. Someone was shoving at him, shaking him until his teeth rattled.

"What?" he snapped irritably.

He caught a flash of curly red hair and bright brown eyes.

"You have to wake up. You're lucky I remembered you might be in here. The train's leaving in twenty minutes and if you don't catch it, you're stuck here."

"Damn," Scorpius said, jumping up and stifling a yawn.

"I've already got your trunk, Marlowe gave it to me," Rose said. "Along with a message. He told me to tell you not to... er... 'wear me out' over the Hols." she smirked.

Scorpius groaned. The news of their relationship had traveled almost ridiculously fast around the school. The daughter of Ronald Weasley and the son of Draco Malfoy, dating? It was absurd. Even more absurd would be the son of Harry Potter and the son of Draco Malfoy, but Scorpius wasn't about to allow himself to go there.

"Brilliant," he said. "Well, thanks. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Can't wait," Rose said, blowing him a kiss. "Now hurry yourself up. Al is waiting for you so you can board the train together."

Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat.

"He's outside, I'll send him in," Rose said, as she pulled the door open. He heard her murmur something to someone outside as the door shut. A moment later, it swung open and Al walked in.

"Hey," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Sorry I ran away last night, I just-"

"No, I understand," Scorpius said, softly. "Really, don't worry about it, Al. Just forget whatever it was."

Al let out a rush of air. "Thanks, mate."

They began to walk together, picking up both their trunks outside the door. They were nearly to the front doors when Al froze abruptly.

"Shit," he said, and threw a silvery blanket over himself. He disappeared from view.

"Al, what gives?" Scorpius hissed, ignoring the looks he was getting from passer-by for talking to himself.

"Amandine Thomas," Al's voice said, simply. The dark-skinned girl was heading towards them, though she hadn't noticed Scorpius yet.

"Do NOT give away my location, you wanker," Al hissed fiercely.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and continued to pull his own luggage, pretending to use his wand to direct the trunk Al was pulling, so it wouldn't look as if it was moving by itself.

"Hi, Malfoy," Amandine said, throwing him a coy grin.

"Hi, Thomas," Scorpius said warily, stopping in his tracks and flicking his wand at Al's trunk, which stopped along with its owner.

Amandine's eyes flickered to Al's trunk. "Non-verbal spell, Malfoy? Very advanced for a fourth-year."

"Er, yes," he said, shifting from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry, Thomas, but I have to catch this train. Is there something you needed?"

"Have you seen Albus?" she asked, her hands on her hips.

"Er... I don't see him," Scorpius said truthfully. "Maybe he caught the earlier train?"

"But isn't that his trunk?" she asked, pointing.

_Blimey,_ this girl did not act like a Gryffindor. She was too observant.

Scorpius looked down. "Well, so it is," he said mildly, picking up his trunk again. "I'll see you later, Thomas."

He was surprised, to say the least, when Amandine caught his arm. "Under your wrapper, Al?" she asked slyly, looking directly at Albus. She reached forward and flung the cloak off of him. It puddled around his feet.

"Oh, shite!" Al cried, grasping the cloak in one hand and the trunk in the other. "Scorp, RUN!"

Scorpius grabbed his trunk and they ran, with Amandine still laughing behind them. At one point, Scorpius checked over his shoulder to see her shaking hands with Rose. They both smiled and waved at him. Amandine wasn't chasing them. He chose not to disclose this information with Al. After all, his face was turning such a lovely shade of maroon.

They collapsed onto the train, fumbling for the door of the first compartment they saw.

It was full of first years. "Out," Albus wheezed, and they scampered, frightened looks on their faces.

They flopped next to each other on the padded benches, Al panting, Scorpius breathing a little harder than usual.

"How are you okay?" Al gasped.

Scorpius snorted. "For an athlete, you have really pathetic lungs."

Al grasped for his knees. "Tosser. Dad said it was some sort of muggle thing I've got- asthma, he called it? Makes it hard to breathe."

"Prat. I think that's an excuse."

They both laughed, and Al slowly slid into upright position.

"So where's Rose?"

"Apparently Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione are picking up Rose and Hugo at school," Al said.

"Wish my parents loved me that much," Scorpius replied, and they grinned at each other.

After about ten minutes of playful banter that set Scorpius' heart firmly lodged in his throat, they settled into a game of exploding snap. At some point they were joined by Adam Marlowe and Nathan Detroit. The rest of the ride to the station flew by, and before they knew it, they were already back in London.

"There's your mum," said Al, pointing to the pale, dark-haired woman who was waving enthusiastically at them. She happened to be standing next to Harry Potter, who had his hands in his pockets and a large grin on his face.

Scorpius was struck again with exactly how much Al looked like his father, down to the shaggy black hair, the glasses, the green eyes, and the knobby knees. The only thing missing from Al was the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead.

Mr. Potter had aged quite nicely. Is that what Al would look like when he was in his forties? If so, then he definitely didn't mind.

"Scorp!" Astoria scooped him up in a hug. When he'd been little, he'd always thought his mum was the prettiest woman in the whole world. At fourteen, he was still convinced it was true. She had shiny brown hair, piled on her head, porcelain skin, and warm gray eyes.

He took that back as Mrs. Potter showed up beside Mr. Potter. Ginny was every bit as pretty as Astoria was.

"Where's Dad?" Scorpius asked, but his question was answered as his father showed up behind Mr. Potter.

"How've you been?" Astoria asked, brushing the hair from Scorpius' face. "You never write."

Scorpius shrugged. "I've been all right." he turned to look at Albus. Mr. Potter was grinning at his son, his hand on his shoulder.

"We'd best get going," Ginny said, smiling at Scorpius. "Why don't you two say goodbye while the four of us head to get your trunks from the luggage trolleys?"

Scorpius offered a hand to Al. "See you at Christmas," he said.

"Don't be a twit," Al muttered, and pulled Scorpius into a hug.

**A/N: REVIEW!**


	3. Brotherly Confessions and Lily's Gaydar

**A/N: I'm going to be completely honest, I'm a little disappointed. 3 reviews and 246 hits? That's not on. How much effort does it take to click a button and say "I liked it" or "please update"? Honestly. If I can't get reviews, what inspiration do I have for finishing this story? If I can't get reviews, I'm not going to continue it. I don't want to sound like a brat but this is sort of getting me down.**

**So that's all, and I realized I've been forgetting the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. **

_**December 2020**_

_**Fourth Year**_

Al kicked himself. Or, tried to. It was difficult. He kicked his bed then paced the room, running a hand through his hair.

_Fuck._

Why? Why why why why?

Why did it have to be _Scorpius_? Were the fates really so cruel as to make the first person Al ever felt anything for... his best friend? His _male_ best friend, who was dating his _cousin_?

He kicked something again, then sat on his bed, elbows resting on knees, head in hands. Okay. Well. It was only a crush, really. Only proximity, right? There were plenty of gay boys in his year and as soon as he got back to school, he'd take advantage of it. He only had a slight thing for Scorpius because he was the first person Al had spoken to after Amandine.

Scorpius was only a crush.

He groaned. What if it _wasn't_ just a crush? What if he really fancied Scorpius, and this wasn't a joke or a passing thing, and he was going to have to see Scorpius and Rose together at Christmas and for years after that?

"Albus?" his father was calling his name from downstairs. "Could you set up the tree, please?"

As he got up, Al wondered why his father asked him to take care of the Christmas tree every year when they both knew full well that Al would just burn it down. Tradition, he supposed.

He had just burned down his third Christmas tree (honestly, he had no idea how these things happened) when the bell rang. He muttered aguamenti, assuming his father would answer the door.

He hear Harry talking to someone- Teddy, it must've been. James would be ecstatic- Teddy had been James' idol and favorite person since birth.

Harry wandered into the room, and Al heard the faint creaking overhead that indicated Teddy was heading up the stairs.

"How's it going?" Harry asked.

"I've finally got it," Al said, flicking a strand of tinsel over the newly created tree. "How's Mum?"

"Crying. She burned the dinner."

Al nodded. Yet another Potter family tradition.

"Teddy's with James?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "Why don't you go help your mum with dinner before she kills herself with the turkey baster?"

Up until he'd started Hogwarts and met Scorpius, Al had always been a bit jealous of the rapport between James and Teddy. They'd always been close, even though they were five years apart. Al was only a year younger than James, yet Teddy had never looked at him as anything more than an annoying younger cousin- not as a confidant, as he'd always seen James. Sure, Al had had Rose, who was his age, but it just wasn't the same.

Then he'd met Scorpius, and now simply appreciated the fact that to Teddy, it didn't seem to matter that he was so much older than James. They were still best friends.

Al watched them as he set the table, arguing on the couch, describing Quidditch plays, laughing. He had a sudden urge to floo his own best friend, but refrained. He knew the Malfoys were most likely eating dinner and, much as they loved Albus, would not appreciate the interruption.

Finally, halfway through the meal Al had saved from disaster, Teddy turned to him.

"How's school going for you, squirt?" Teddy asked, ruffling his hair.

Al ducked away, scowling. "Don't call me that, and don't treat me like a little kid. I'm fifteen in January. You're not much older-what are you, twenty going on five?"

"Twenty-one," Teddy replied cheerfully. "And fine. How's school going, _mate_?"

Al made a wishy-washy movement to indicate exactly how his grades were going, then caught his mum's eye. He suddenly became very interested in his peas.

"James says you're doing well in Quidditch," Teddy said. "Been helping to win every game?"

Al pointed his fork at his sister. "Lily's the brilliant one," he said, swallowing his mouthful of food.

This successfully detracted attention from himself. He sighed in relief.

He slipped away after dinner to the laundry room by the kitchen, leaning against the wall. Through it, he could hear the sounds of dishes clinking softly in the sink and running water. Harry was asking Teddy if he'd like to spend the night, to catch up with James-

James!

The idea hit Al like a bolt from the blue, and he had no idea how he hadn't thought of it before. It was brilliant. He could tell James. About Scorpius, about Amandine. There was no way of knowing, of course, exactly how James would react. He'd be okay with it- that Al was certain of. But he might take the mickey out of him. It was just a chance he'd have to take.

He took the stairs two at a time to James' room, and didn't bother knocking before opening the door. James was running his hands through his hair in agitation, his back to the door. He whirled around, eyes wild.

Al walked over to James' desk chair and sat down. "Can we talk for a minute?" His brain was telling him this was a bad idea, that he should leave- his knuckles tightened on his knees.

James began to pace. "Er, Al, can't it wait? I'm a little-"

"I'm gay," Al blurted out. His heart stopped as James spun around, looking as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"That wasn't exactly how I planned to tell you," Al admitted, his eyes on his knees.

He could feel James' eyes on him. "You're... you're _what_?"

"Gay," Albus replied, in a voice that got smaller with every passing moment.

But Merlin, it felt good to get it out. It was in James' hands now, whatever happened. It was as if something immense had lifted off Al's shoulders.

James ran a hand through his messy locks. "You're... sure?"

Al nodded. "Quite sure." He smirked inwardly.

"How?" James demanded.

"Well, the week before Holidays a completely naked Amandine Thomas accosted me in my completely empty dorm room, offering me no-strings sex, and I shoved her off so I could go find Scorpius to work on our Holiday homework."

James was gaping. Al was almost tempted to laugh.

"B-but Scorpius, he's-"

"Dating Rose, yes, I know. I'm very much aware of that, thank you very much," Al said, sourly.

"Well," James said, "I suppose the Potter line stops here."

_What?_ "What are you on about, James?"

James actually rolled his eyes, as if Al was the dense one and James was the one who always had to explain everything.

"I'm gay, you dolt."

Well. Al couldn't exactly say he'd seen that one coming. Suddenly, James seemed a lot more worthy of respect than he had a minute ago. "How did you know?" he whispered, standing up.

James sank onto his bed. "I found out last year, actually. On the train ride to school, in September."

A sudden memory sparked in Al's brain, and he grinned. "You _were_ acting funny at the feast. You were this nasty shade of green and you kept jumping whenever anyone said your name, remember?"

"Well, it wasn't as if I was very pleased with my little discovery," James said, smiling a little. "I didn't have you to confide in."

"Why not?" Al demanded.

"Well- you're my little brother. I didn't want to give you any reason- didn't want to-" James was more inarticulate tonight that he had ever been before in Al's memory.

An unexpected flare of affection rose up in Al, and he laughed, sitting on the bed beside James. "You're my big brother," he said. "Did you honestly think that anything you did or said- much less who you _love_- could make me love you any less?" He chuckled again, thinking of something. "Besides, knowing that about you might have helped _me._"

James stared at him a moment, then grinned. "You're such a poof, Al."

"Hey, I _am_ a poof, and proud of it," Al said defensively. "Let me be poncey if I want to."

James' arm came around his shoulder, and they sat quietly for a moment.

Something was niggling in the back of his mind, but he couldn't seem to figure out what it was.

"So who was it?" Ah, there it was.

"Who was what?" James asked.

"The boy, the one who made you realize on the train. The one who turned your face green and made you all jumpy. Who was he?"

"Oh, right." His brother was quiet for a split second. "Uh, nobody in particular."

Al didn't believe it for a second. "Was it Miles? Lorcan? Lysander?" he persisted.

"I said nobody in particular, Al, now leave it."

_It's somebody we're related to. _His face must have reacted to the thought, because James snapped, "What?" irritably.

"I-it wasn't... Fred, was it?"

"No," James said impatiently.

"It was, wasn't it? You fancy our cousin! Oh, Merlin, James-" he was filled with horror.

"Albus Severus, I can promise you that I _don't fancy Fred._"

Something in James' tone told Al that he was being a prick, and that it most definitely was not Fred. "Oh. Okay. Well then, who was it?"

"Nobody, Al, okay?" James cleared his throat. "When I was talking to Rose at one point on the train, before she went to find you and Scorpius-"

Albus tried not to twitch at Scorpius' name, but obviously failed, since James looked at him for a moment before continuing.

"-She said something offhand about a bloke walking past, something about how nice his shoulders were, and in my head, I agreed."

Albus knew when James was lying to him. But, being a somewhat understanding brother, he decided to let it go. Whoever it was, James clearly wasn't comfortable telling him yet.

Al was still betting on Miles.

There was a tapping on the door, and Al sprung up. "That's probably Teddy- he's staying the night in your room, isn't he?"

"Right," James said, grinning, but Al could see something off about his smile. Probably still shaken from their mutual confessions.

Al opened the door, and smiled at his almost-cousin. "Hey, Tedder-o. I was just on my way out." He slipped past Teddy, then added, "see you in the morning, James," before shutting the door.

James was_ gay_, he thought, on the way back to his room. He never would have guessed- James had always been the ladies' man of Gryffindor House.

_Guess it's those types you need to watch out for,_ he sniggered to himself. He was surprised that Lily hadn't guessed it. She seemed to be astoundingly good at it-she always seemed to know before anyone else did if someone was queer, sometimes before the person themselves knew.

Lily poked her head around her doorway. "Scorp here yet?"

"Not coming until tomorrow," Al replied.

Lily nodded. "Where's Teddy?"

"Up in James' room. He's spending the night."

"Having a gay old time, I'd imagine," Lily said, and winked before disappearing back into her room.

Al stood for a while, staring at her closed door, before stumbling back to his room, head abuzz. Two shell-shocking events in one evening was just too much for his brain to handle.

So Lily knew James was gay. Big deal. She had a Gaydar that could probably detect the exact amount of poofs in Japan if she wanted it to. She most likely knew that Al was gay, too.

But _Teddy_?

_Teddy _and _James?_

If it had been anyone else telling him this, Al would have laughed it off. Teddy was five years older than James, and practically family, and a soon-to-be teacher at Hogwarts. Besides, he'd dated Victoire. He couldn't be gay.

_And how many girls has James dated?_

Too many to count, he admitted reluctantly to himself.

If anyone else had told him, he wouldn't even be following this particular train of thought right now, he thought as he lay on his bed.

But Lily was never wrong. Not with her Gaydar, and not when she predicted couples. Al would swear that there was some Seer in her blood if he didn't know that the rest of the family was rubbish at Divination.

Lily knew things. What did she know about Teddy and James?

Al pushed the thought out of his mind, focusing on the fact that _tomorrow_ was Christmas, and _tomorrow_ he'd see Scorpius again and they'd be spending about two weeks in the same bedroom.

He fell asleep with a contented smile on his face.

He woke up groggily, to the feeling someone was watching him. He snapped his eyelids open. Large brown eyes were floating an inch from his face.

Al yelped, and fell out of his bed.

"Rise and shine," Lily sang.

"Fuck you," Al declared, pulling a pillow over his head.

"Suit yourself," Lily shrugged, "But Mom's made bacon without burning it, there are presents for you under the tree, and Scorpius is already sitting at the breakfast table."

The pillow came flying off Al's face. "Scorpius is here?"

"Yes," said Lily, amused. "He is."

"Well, why didn't you say so before?" He leapt out of his bed, pulling his fuzzy black dressing gown around himself and shoving his feet into slippers, then hurtled down the stairs. Lily followed after him at a more leisurely pace, muttering something that sounded like, "stupid sodding poof... poncey git..."

Scorpius was indeed sitting at the kitchen table, eying Ginny's cooking warily, when Al arrived. He looked up, a giant grin splitting his face, and stood.

Al lunged forward to hug his best friend, feeling those strong-and-delicate arms come around his back, and sighed in dismay.

_Definitely not just a crush._

**A/N: I'm serious, please review! It makes me so happy when I get your reviews. I don't want to be one of those authors who refuses to publish until they get a certain number of reviews. **


	4. Christmas at the Potter's

**A/N: So, I didn't really mention this in the last chapters, but it should be somewhat obvious that I'm switching between Points of View. Chapter 1 was Al, Chapter 2 Scorpius, Chapter 3 Al, and this chapter Scorpius. **

**Oh, and please review!**

**Drarry-Remirius-Potter: You may have that feeling because I copied the conversation between Al and James word for word from my other story about Teddy and James, because it's relevant to both parties. Thank you for your review :)**

**Tomoyo Kinomoto: I actually did think about making them argue. But after considering it for a while, I decided they wouldn't have, at least for their sons' sake. They were decent to each other at the station in the end of the 7th book and their sons weren't even friends yet. I think Harry saving Malfoy's life in book 7 probably put Malfoy in a bit of a debt towards Harry, ending their childhood rivalry. Besides, I like to think they're a little more grown up than that ;) **

**Thank you as well to Soapiefan, JuicyPumpkin, Tigerlilyz, Dark Duchess and Shadow Queen, and CryingTearsOfBlood, marieche, patacraz7, SushiBar. **

**Disclaimer: Rights to Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros, not me. **

_**December, 2020**_

_**4th year**_

"Oof," Scorpius said as he was bowled over by something that looked like a large, shaggy dog in a bathrobe.

"SCORP!" yelled the object, releasing him.

Scorpius flattened his hair. If he wasn't careful, it would start looking like a Potter's hair. "Hi, Al," he chuckled.

He looked over Al's shoulder to see Lily making kissy faces at the both of them. Scorpius silently sent a stinging hex her way and she clasped her hand to her arm, flashing him the two-fingered salute. Unfortunately, at that moment, Ginny turned around.

"Lily, don't let me catch you doing that again until you're at least fifteen," Ginny said sternly. "Al, I'm glad you're awake. Teddy and James have been up for over an hour. They're in the living room opening presents, if you'd care to join them."

Al shoved a piece of toast in his mouth and mumbled something indecipherable.

"Scorpius, there are presents under there for you, too," Ginny added.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," Scorpius said, smiling sweetly.

A long while later, James settled himself onto the couch beside Scorpius, brushing wrapping paper off the seats.

"All in all, a good Christmas," he said lazily, watching Teddy and Albus pelt each other with chocolate frogs.

Scorpius couldn't muster up the energy to actually respond to him, instead watching the firelight glinting in Albus' messy hair.

The rest of the day was filled with sledding and games of backyard Quidditch with the new set of Quidditch balls James had received for Christmas.

Scorpius had never had a Christmas quite like this one before. He loved his family, of course, but his mum had only one sister, who was childless. Both his grandfathers were dead, and one of his grandmothers. Basically, on Christmas, it was Scorpius, Draco, Astoria, Narcissa, and Aunt Queenie. A loving family, to be sure, but not one like this, where there were so many people they could pick and choose the best athletes and still have enough people for two full Quidditch teams.

Somewhere around 15:30, Rose showed up with Hermione, Ron, and Hugo. She squealed when she saw Scorpius, attacking him with a hug and kissing the corner of his mouth. She pressed her lips against his ear. "I wish you could see Al's face right now," she hissed, "he's furious." She giggled lightly, and he felt her hand creep down his back. "Don't freak out," she warned, before giving his arse a squeeze.

He jumped a little anyway, and there was the sound of breaking glass from behind them.

Scorpius turned, sliding an arm around Rose's shoulders, to see Al standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a large, empty tray dangling from his hands. He was staring at the two of them with a look on his face that Scorpius couldn't decipher.

Ginny bustled into the kitchen. "Oh, Al, you dropped an entire tray of dishes!"

Al seemed to shake himself. "I... tripped," he said, sparing a glance at the shattered dishes on the floor.

Ginny ruffled his hair exasperatedly then crouched down to pick up the sharp pieces. She looked up, spotting Rose and Scorpius.

"Oh, Rose, you're here!" She said, smiling. "Good, I imagine Scorpius has been getting quite lonely."

"He's got me," Al said shortly.

Ginny laughed. "Of course, you twat. I meant for girlfriend things. I don't really think Scorpius fancies snogging you."

"Well..." said Scorpius honestly.

Ginny snorted, thinking he was kidding, as Al blushed. "I just meant he's been okay with just me. Haven't you?" He asked Scorpius uncertainly.

Scorpius laughed. "'Course I have. Bloody good game we had earlier."

"Watch your language," Ginny admonished, but she was smiling.

"What were the teams?" Rose asked, as she and Scorpius left Al sweeping up the glass.

"Er, it was me, Al, James, Teddy, Fred, Roxanne, and George against Bill, Charlie, Luis, Oliver, Harry, Ron, and Ginny. We lost, of course. Harry caught the snitch."

"Gave me a good run for my money, though," Harry said from behind them. "I haven't trained like that since Hogwarts."

"Lies," accused Rose. "You always trained with Aunt Ginny when she flew for the Hollyhead Harpies."

"Caught me," said Harry. "You're a good flier, though, Scorpius. Maybe even better than your dad was in Hogwarts, and he was quite good."

"You always beat him, too," Scorpius pointed out, and Harry laughed.

Gift-opening was the same noisy, disorganized affair he'd always imagined it would be in this family. There was no semblance of order- people simply dove for the packages under the tree and opened them at what seemed to be random- the air was often filled with cries of thanks and excitement. Somewhere, a baby was crying. Scorpius couldn't even see where the tree was- there were simply too many people.

Al pushed through the crowd, and handed Scorpius a package. "It's from Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. I figured you'd be a little wary to brave the throng by yourself, your first time here."

"You figured right," Scorpius followed Al deeper into the sitting room. "Is this how it always is with your family?"

"What? No, usually it's much worse. I think they're being subdued because you're here."

"This is _subdued_?" Scorpius asked loudly, as the baby's wails increased in volume.

Al merely grinned and wiggled his ears, a special talent of his.

"I like your family, though," Scorpius said, suddenly. Al looked at him. "I mean, I love my Mum and Dad," he hastened to add, "but it's a little quiet with just us."

"I'd love a little quiet, believe me," Al said as two little girls came pelting into the room. They attacked Al, climbing all over him.

"Tell us a story!" one demanded. She had red hair and freckles- such a stereotypical Weasley that it was almost laughable. The other was small, and fairy-like, with floaty blond hair, blue eyes, and a pointy face- a part-veela girl.

Scorpius watched Al interact with the two girls, a little smile on his face. He was made almost constantly aware that Albus was not a Slytherin. He had an air about him, warm and paternal, funny and caring, that set him apart from Scorpius' cold, sarcastic house mates.

He was beautiful when he laughed. If thinking that made Scorpius a ponce, so be it. It was the truth. His whole face lit up, the green eyes glowed, and the tip of his pink tongue would poke through his white teeth. Was it sad that it was possibly the most erotic thing he'd ever seen?

Al caught him looking, and turned pink, for some reason. He whispered something into the ears of the girls he was playing with and they giggled, shooting covert glances over at Scorpius.

"Go!" said Al, and they charged, jumping onto Scorpius and knocking him over onto the floor.

Scorpius let out an "oof" as the wind was knocked out of him. The girls refused to relent as they tickled him mercilessly.

"Al!" Scorpius cried. "Save me from these little demons!"

"What, you don't like children?" Al asked innocently, from across the room.

The two little girls giggled.

"Don't push me, Potter," Scorpius growled.

Al sighed. "Fine, you prat. Molly, Adelie, why don't you go bother Adelie's mummy?"

The two little monsters scampered off. Scorpius sat up slowly. "You know I don't like children," he said petulantly, crossing his arms.

"Did the big bad girls hurt you?" Al teased, laughing.

"I almost died," Scorpius said, wounded.

Rose, who had been sitting across the room playing Wizard's Chess with a young, blond, veela-looking cousin, looked up. "What, you don't want children one day?"

"Urgh, no." Scorpius shuddered. "They're loud and whiny and smelly. And totally helpless."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "What sort of woman would put up with you?"

If it had been just the two of them, Scorpius would have said, "Luckily, a woman doesn't _need_ to put up with me." But, as it was (with Al and at least eight other cousins present), he simply winked at her.

She pretended to swoon, and Scorpius shook his head and turned to Al. He caught the slightest glimpse of a sour expression cross Al's face, before it shifted into a grin, making the other boy wonder if he'd seen it at all.

"Checkmate, Belle," Rose said, and the girl stood up, yelled something in French, and strode away. The various people around the room laughed.

"Belle?" Scorpius murmured to Al. "I thought Fleur and Bill only had three kids? Victoire, Luis, and Dominique, right?"

"Yes," Al whispered back, "but Victoire has a sister, Gabrielle, and she has four children- Adelie, Belle, Madeleine, and Anton. Belle's the oldest- first year."

"How many cousins do you have?" Scorpius asked, in amazement.

The other cousins in the room laughed.

"Do you really want to know?" Al asked, warily.

"Do I really count as your cousin?" A young-looking man bouncing a newborn baby asked. "I'm only related by, what, marriage?"

"Who's he?" Scorpius asked in a whisper.

"George's wife's brother's kid," Al replied.

Scorpius groaned. "I don't want to know any more about your family. It's too convoluted for me to understand."

Christmas dinner was an Event. The 6-person dining room table, even when magically expanded, would not fit all fifty-three people currently taking up space in the Potter household (1). People had to squeeze themselves into wherever they could fit.

Scorpius and Al found themselves tucked into a little space behind a bookshelf. It was a little alcove with a floor-to-ceiling window. The snow fell silently on the garden beyond.

"Place has been here since I was eleven," Al said, smirking. "Rose and I hide here. Mum and Dad don't know about it- Rose expanded the wall back and put the bookcase in front of it. Magicked the window so you can't see it from the outside."

Scorpius laughed. "I can't even pretend to be surprised by that. Rose has always been a rule-breaker, and she's certainly clever enough. I think she's corrupted you."

"Corrupted would imply that he was pure in the first place," Rose said, sliding into the alcove beside them and folding up her lanky form so they would all fit. "Blimey, this worked better when Al and I were eleven."

"Won't someone miss us?" Scorpius asked, reaching out to take Rose's hand. He saw Al's eyes flicker to their entwined fingers, and a slight frown pulled the corners of his lips down.

"Have you _seen _the number of people out there?" Rose laughed. "Nobody will even be looking for us."

The three of them stayed there until nearly 22:00- when Rose heard the sound of her mother calling her name. She stood up hastily. "I'd better be going, before Mum finds this place," she said, leaning down to kiss Scorpius.

Al's hands clenched in his lap.

"Bye, Al. I'll floo you two tomorrow," she said, and flicked her wand. The bookcase slid slightly to the right and she vanished.

"We'd best get out, too," Al said, sighing. "We can sleep in the living room."

The two boys settled in the sitting room, refusing Harry's offer to transfigure the couches into beds, and answering his and Ginny's various bids of a good night.

"How's your crisis going?" Scorpius asked slowly, lazy on many helpings of potatoes and meat.

"What crisis?" Al asked. He sounded sleepy.

"Your bloke crisis."

Al's breathing stuttered momentarily. If the room hadn't already been so silent, Scorpius wouldn't have picked up on it.

"Erm, nothing," he said. "Nothing's been going on." He sounded somewhat uncertain.

"No blokes you've had your eye on?" Scorpius asked, picking specs of lint off his green-and-gray plaid flannel pajama pants.

"Er... no. Not really."

Scorpius raised a platinum eyebrow.

"Well, there's one bloke... in my house," he added hastily, his eye twitching. "He's rather good-looking, and he's a friend of mine. But I'm pretty sure he's straight."

"Why?" Scorpius asked, going over the boys in Gryffindor House. Nathan Detroit, Coby Finnegan, Seth Coleridge, Sean Thomas. He wasn't sure about the others, but Seth was at least slightly bent.

"He's got a girlfriend," Al said.

"Oh." said Scorpius. Well, that eliminated Seth and Nathan. "That could be a potential problem."

"A bit."

Scorpius bounded off the couch over to Al, who looked up in surprise as Scorpius put his arm around him. "Don't let it get you down, mate. It's tough, I know. But you'll be all right. It's just one bloke."

"Easy for you to say," Al said, leaning his head against Scorpius' shoulder. His breath tickled Scorpius' neck, and suddenly it was very hard to breathe. "You got Rose right away."

Something unpleasant jolted in his stomach at the thought of his so-called girlfriend. She was a lovely girl, of course, but he felt nothing but queasy at the thought of kissing her.

"How long have you fancied her?" Al asked curiously.

It felt as if something sludgy, like molasses or peanut butter, had taken over Scorpius' veins. _Just pretend it's Al you're talking about,_ he thought to himself.

"I don't actually know," he found himself saying. "Forever, it feels like. Since I've known her."

Al's eyes were wide. "Merlin, that long? Does she know?"

Scorpius snorted. "Of course not. I don't want to scare her off."

"She'd think it was sweet," Al said, yawning.

"No, it'd scare her off," Scorpius corrected, his chin resting absently on Al's head. "But I don't mind. Just being with her is nice."

He wondered how much more obvious he could be before Al realized it wasn't Rose they were talking about anymore.

"She'd be crazy not to feel the same way," Al mumbled sleepily, drooping into Scorpius. "Who wouldn't?"

"I can think of a few," Scorpius whispered, looking down at the nodding black head tucked into the crook of his arm.

"I can't," Al's voice murmured, and Scorpius looked down in surprise- but Al was already fast asleep.

**A/N: (1) just so you know, I didn't make up that number. **

**The Family (for those of you who want to know)**

**Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour- Victoire (20), Luis (17-Year 7), Dominique (16-year 6)**

**Gabrielle Delacour and Arnold Rousseau- Belle (11-year 1), Madeleine (7), Anton (6), Adelie (4)**

**Charlie Weasley and Oliver Wood**

**Percy Weasley and Audrey Wilton- Lucy (12-Year 2), Molly (5)**

**Aggie Wilton (Audrey's sister) and Gene Daxton- Dawn (12-Year 1), Jesse (8), Aimee (3), Benj (2)**

**Vian Wilton (Audrey's brother) and Amanda Leland- Perry (16-Year 6), Luke (18- Year 7)**

**Tabitha Wilton (Audrey's sister) and Nile Wyatt- Jareth (13-Year 3)**

**George Weasley and Angelina Johnson- Fred (15-Year 5), Roxanne (13-Year 3)**

**Tyler Johnson (Angelina's brother) and Cassie Harris- Angelo (22), Alora (20), Adair (17-Year 7)**

**(Angelo is married to a girl named Sophie Crista, and has a 3-month old daughter named Alice. He is the man with the baby in the story). **

**Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger****- Rose (14-Year 4), Hugo (12-Year 2)**

**Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley****- James (16-Year 5), Albus (14-Year 4), Lily (12-Year 2)**

**That's the family!**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

**They make my day! **


	5. Quidditch Matches and Confrontations

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the reviews! It's always wonderful to log on and see so many!**

**I'm sorry it took me a longer time to update. Unfortunately, I had the flu and have had it for the past 5 days. Although I already had the whole chapter written in my notebook, I still had to transfer it to Word and the screen gave me a headache. It seems as if my fever is going down, though!**

**Stelia22: Unfortunately, having this be a companion fic does really give away the ending of this story, doesn't it? It's not the ending that's a surprise, I think, it's the plotline along the way. I'm glad you read the other one, though!**

**Dark Duchess and Shadow Queen:**** I did, actually! I had help from online naming sites (the meanings & origins of names- I wanted them to fit in with the family) and from friends. It did take a bit of time, but I like to be organized!**

**Tomoyo Kinomoto: thank you! I did fix the typos you pointed out, so thank you for letting me know! **

**also thanks to: FrolicWithNicole, EijiNya, Enaid Mora, Soapiefan, randy13, marieche, and JuicyPumpkin!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

**WARNING: James has a potty mouth. **

_**February 2021**_

_**4th Year**_

"Good luck today, Al," Elizabeth Sidney chirped as she passed Al and Rose, who were sitting together at the Gryffindor table. Al was shoveling down eggs and toast like there was no tomorrow, and Rose was staring at her plate, looking slightly sick.

"I think I'm going to be ill," Rose said. She did look rather green.

"Hold it down, mate," Al said, slapping her on the back. She choked, then shot him a reproachful look which he didn't seem to notice.

James appeared behind them. "Are you two ready to go? We've got to head down to the locker room to get ready."

"I don't think I can do it, James," Rose said uneasily.

James huffed impatiently. "Rose, you say that before every single match. Then you end up kicking their arses. C'mon."

Al picked up his broom, which was lying on the table, and stood up, tugging Rose with him by her elbow.

"Lily, come on," he called to his sister, who was at the Hufflepuff table flirting with Jack DeWitt. She waved goodbye then hurried over to their table.

"Time to go down?"

"Lily, you're too young for him," James said gruffly. "He's a fifth year."

"So?" Lily said, tossing her hair.

James and Al sighed. Lily was already shaping up to be a knockout, with her mother's red hair and confidence and her father's clear skin and stature. They were having a difficult time keeping the boys away from her, and she hadn't even developed a figure yet. Once she hit puberty, well... they'd have to beat the boys back with a stick.

They gathered Luis, Roxanne, and Fred, and left for the locker rooms.

It seemed to take years to get down to the pitch. The wind was biting. Al wrapped his thin robe around himself as tightly as he could and wished he'd thought to wear something warmer.

There was some clamoring about as they all changed into their Quidditch robes, then sat in front of James.

"Right, men." James marched back and forth purposefully in front of his team. Al and Lily nudged each other and tried very hard not to laugh.

"I want all of you to do your best today. Play it rough, play it hard. Lily-" he addressed his sister, "_be_ that bloody snitch. Do_ not_, under any circumstances, let Scorpius catch it. Chasers, you _chase,_" he said, as if that wasn't obvious. He looked at Roxanne, Luis, and Al. "Use those passing techniques. You need to become _one_. You need to become a _family_."

"James, we _are_ all a family," Al pointed out. James ignored him.

"Beaters-" Rose and Fred straightened up. "Be _ruthless,_" he whispered, and Rose's face split into a grin.

"And you, Mr. Captain," Al said, exchanging a snarky grin with Rose, "What will you do?"

"I," James paused significantly, "shall _keep._"

Lily whooped a bit.

"Now." James lowered his voice to a whisper. "Let's go out there and kick. their. bloody. ARSES!"

On that note, the team exploded into cheers and they all poured out of the locker room. Al fell into step beside Rose. "Good luck today. Crack Doyle's head for me."

"I can promise you that."

The air was bracingly cold as it hit them, and dimly Al heard James say something to the team about warming charms. He cast one over himself quickly, sighing in relief as the bubble of heat surrounded him. James was up at the stands already, talking to Teddy.

The look on James' face was unmistakable. It was the same look that he knew appeared on his face whenever he talked to Scorpius. Lily had been right. James fancied Teddy.

A shudder passed through him. Teddy was practically family. And so much older, and a teacher at the school... he felt sick all of the sudden.

James landed on the ground, smiling like a daft idiot.

"Oi, snap out of it, you stupid bugger," Rose said, snapping her fingers in front of James' face. "We can't afford to lose this game, partly because I won't be able to face Scorpius for a month is we do, and partly because I've a bet going with Charlie."

James laughed. "Don't worry, not a goal gets past me, and Lily won't let anyone but her catch the snitch."

"We'll see about that, Potter," said a feigned-arrogant voice from behind them, and Rose spun around, beaming.

"Scorpius," she said, instantly fixing her features into a scowl.

He scowled back. "A kiss for good luck?"

Al's stomach flipped unpleasantly.

"You wish," Rose said, flicking her hair. "I'll offer you a deal, though."

James was looking at Al with pity in his eyes. Al steadfastly pretended not to see him.

"Oh?" Scorpius raised one eyebrow. "And what's that?"

Rose was too close to Scorpius. Al felt as if he couldn't breathe. "A kiss for you if you win..." she used her thumb to stroke Scorpius' cheek lightly. Al winced. "... and a kiss for me if I win," she finished.

Scorpius was dipping his head, clearly intending to kiss Rose. "Sounds like torture." His lips were an inch away from hers... Al couldn't stand it...

"It is," Rose whispered, and spun away at the last second, flouncing over to Al. Scorpius cursed, then followed her.

Al flinched as Scorpius threw an arm around his shoulder, and pretended not to see James flinch along with him.

Kick-off went by in a blur. It wasn't until Al was up in the air that he even realized what was going on. As that thought occurred to him, something heavy landed in his arms. He automatically caught and cradled it before even registering what it was.

"Al, what the hell are you doing?" he heard Roxanne yell.

This kicked him into gear. He sped for the goalposts. Marlowe tried to block the goal, he really did. He put in the effort.

Gryffindor: 10, Slytherin: 0.

9 goals in all. Al got four of them.

Lily, apparently deciding to put Slytherin out of their misery, caught the snitch from under Scorpius' nose.

James and Teddy were hugging (Teddy was yelling something that sounded like "_bloody brilliant_!") when Al landed on the ground. A laughing Scorpius was cuffing Lily, who was cursing at him.

Rose appeared beside Scorpius, and tugged him away without a word, giving him the most suggestive of looks. He followed willingly enough.

James was standing next to him, watching Scorpius and Rose go.

"I'm fine," Al said, answering the question he knew James was going to ask. "Honestly, I am." He lowered his voice, flicking his eyes over at Teddy and Lily. They were standing close enough to hear. "It's you I need to talk to."

James swallowed as Al raised a significant eyebrow at him, then walked away with his arm around Lily.

"What were you and James talking about?"

"Er, nothing."

"Was it his massive, poofy crush on Teddy?"

Al wrenched his arm away._ "What_?"

Lily just looked at him, smiling benignly.

"You _know_ about that?"

"Of course I do, what's the problem?"

"He's a _teacher_, Lily! He's practically our family, he's a teacher, and he's five years older than James!"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So? So, Lily, not only is that so wrong, it's illegal! Besides, Teddy is _straight_."

"It's only illegal until September," Lily pointed out, "and James knows better than trying anything with him until then. And are you joking me? Teddy isn't _straight._ He's as bent as you are."

"I hate you," he told her.

"Because I'm right? And I know all about your little crush on Scorpius, so don't be a hypocrite."

"He's my age, he's not a teacher, and he's not practically our cousin."

"He's straight, though."

Al scowled. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Just being honest with you, mate." she patted his back and departed into the girl's locker room.

By the time Al got through his much-needed shower, it was dark outside. The air had actually heated up by a few degrees- not enough to leave the sweater behind, of course, but warm enough that he didn't have to cast a drying charm on his hair.

Outside, there seemed to be an intense snowball fight occurring. Without his glasses, Al could see only flashes of red and yellow, signifying that it was Gryffindor House that was out celebrating their win.

A messy-haired bullet slammed into him and Al grabbed his arm before he could get away. "We need to talk."

He dragged James to a stretch of raised stone between two pillars, despite the other boy's protests.

"About what?" James asked innocently, and fury began to build in Al's stomach.

"About you," he said through gritted teeth, "and Teddy."

"What-"

"Don't you pull that charade, James, I'm your brother, I know you better." His hands were shaking. "What the hell do you think you're pulling here?"

James finally looked genuinely confused. "Al, what are you talking about?"

"_Teddy_, James? _Teddy_? How could you?"

"How could I what?" James asked, bewildered. "What's your problem?"

"What's my _problem_?" Al said, trying with much difficulty to control the volume of his voice. "Teddy's practically our cousin, James! He's Dad's godson! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it fucking does!" James whispered back angrily. "Don't you think I've been grappling with that myself? Teddy's my best friend, he's been my best friend for ages! Do you think I want to feel this way about him? Of course I don't!"

"Then stop it," Al growled.

James laughed mockingly. "I can't, Al, you of all people should know that. How many times have you tried to get over Scorpius?"

Al ignored the jab. "You try something on him, you'll ruin that. You'll break up our family."

"Teddy isn't like that," James protested. "Even if he doesn't feel like that, he'll-"

"Which brings me to another point," Al said. "_Teddy. Is. Not. A. Poof."_

"How do you know?"

Al saw Teddy slip onto a bench near them, but he doubted James noticed. "He's dating Victoire, you twat! All of us know that!"

"_No,_ he's _not,_" James said, vehemently. "They broke up. Teddy told me. They broke up three years ago, which you'd know if you actually cared at all about our family, and paid attention to anyone's life besides you and your little posse of prats."

The anger in Al threatened to bubble over. "Don't drag my friends into this, James," he said in a low voice. "This isn't about me or my role in the family. This is about you, and your _stupid_ obsession with a bloke who's five years older than you, practically family, and, oh! A _professor_."

"You don't think I've thought of all of this before?" James yelled, finally losing his temper. "Of course I've thought of all of this before! Goddammit, Al, I think about that stuff every night! I _know_ Teddy's a fucking professor, and he's straight, and he's nearly family! I keep thinking about what will happen if I cock it up with him, if he rejects me. And god, those times where he looks at me in a different way and I start to think maybe, just maybe, he might feel the same way- I have those _stupid buggering _facts all floating around my head, reminding me of why it'll never _work_!" James sucked in a deep breath. "But I can't stop."

"Well, try, for Merlin's sake!" Al yelled. "or I swear to Merlin, I will stick my foot so far up your arse you won't be able to ride a broomstick ever again."

"Is that a threat?" James yelled into Al's face.

"Fuck yes, it is," Al snarled, and both boys turned on their heels and marched away.

Scorpius was standing by the doorway with a goblet of butterbeer, watching Rose hurling snowballs at Lily. He caught sight of Al and waved.

"_Stupid bloody James_!" Al yelled, kicking snow.

"Calm down, you're making a scene," Scorpius said, quietly, placing a hand on the small of Al's back. "Why don't we get back to your common room and you can tell me what this is all about."

Al focused on his breathing as Scorpius led him through the castle.

Scorpius deposited him on the sofa closest to the fire. "Now, tell me what's going on."

Al opened his mouth, and spilled everything.

Scorpius sat and listened, running his finger round and round the rim of his goblet.

When Al finished, there was a moment of silence.

"Why are you so angry?" Scorpius asked softly.

"Because he's _family_! He's a _teacher_! James is underage!"

"What if," Scorpius said, still in his calm, soft voice, "It was a year from now, and James was of age, and Teddy no longer taught here?"

"I- he's still practically our cousin!" Al spluttered.

"Who cares? He's a bloke. It's not as if they're actually related, and even if they were, it's not as if they're in danger of producing deformed children. Or any children at all, for that matter." Scorpius stood up. "Just think about it, Al," he said, and left the room.

**A/N: As always, review please!**


	6. Miles' Apology and Al's Flu

**A/N: My apologies for skipping ahead so far. I really don't have an excuse, other than that nothing interesting happens between February and June, so... yeah. **

**Hufflepuff Girl17: Yeah, boys can be such idiots. Al in particular. He's a bit like his father. I mean, I love Harry to death but I always thought of him as rather daft.**

**FallenSyren:**** Don't worry, I have no intention of stopping! Thank you, though :) My side of the argument is James' side. Love is love, no matter what form (although I draw the line at actual incest and pedophilia). **

**ConradKCat:**** I was wondering when you'd find this story :) well, I'm happy you reviewed every single chapter, and I do actually have a reason for Ron being there first. He was at the jokeshop with George (where he works) and just came to the family gathering with him. Hermione, Rose, and Hugo showed up later on. My family actually has that many relatives- I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that fact. I'm glad you like my story, and I'm glad you found it!**

**FrolicWithNicole:**** I love you more, and I miss you. **

**ATTENTION: This story will not be 16 chapters long, like my last one was. It seems the plotline of this story wraps up pretty easily in around 10 chapters (I'm not sure, since I'm only halfway through chapter 7 at this point). I'll let y'all know.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story (besides all the random family members I made up, and Miles Dawson). **

_**June 2021**_

_**Fourth Year**_

"This isn't working," was the first thing that Scorpius said to Rose as he walked into the Gryffindor Common Room.

"You don't know that," argued Rose.

"It's been months, Rose, _months_," said Scorpius. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Face it, he just doesn't fancy me. Al couldn't care less that I'm dating you."

"He cares a lot, actually. You just can't tell."

"And you can?" He asked skeptically.

"I can."

"How?" he demanded, folding his arms and falling into the squashy couch beside Rose.

"I grew up with him, Scor. I know the boy. When have you ever seen him jealous of someone or something?"

"Never," Scorpius admitted.

"When we were nine, James got his first broomstick. Al was so jealous- he ended up breaking the broomstick. He acted in the exact same way he's acting now."

"Nice to see he's matured so much," Scorpius said. Rose ignored him.

"Just watch. He'll ruin our relationship. He just needs time. And maybe a little push from you."

"How _much _time?" Scorpius asked, sighing in frustration.

"Look, he's only just come out to himself," Rose said, "Nevermind that I've known he's gay for ages. He's only just figured it out for himself a few months ago and that's bound to have been a shock for him. Give him a little more time."

The door opened, and Al walked in. He was dripping wet, and appeared angry- his brow was furrowed, and he was muttering something to himself. His broomstick was clutched in his hand. He didn't notice either of them until he tossed his broom towards the couch and it landed on Rose. She let out an "oof" and he froze, looking around.

Al turned scarlet. "Oh... I'm sorry," he stuttered, avoiding both their eyes.

Rose laughed. "We weren't doing anything, Al, especially not in the middle of the common room. Scor and I are a lot of things, but we aren't exhibitionists. Come join us." she patted the cushion beside her.

"I don- I-"

"Come on, we never see you anymore, Al," Scorpius implored. Al broke down.

"Fine." he said, sitting down next to his friends.

"Oh shit," Rose moaned, seeing Miles striding towards them. "Hide me. Actually, hide Scorpius. Miles will kill him."

Nobody was more surprised than Rose when Miles sat down in front of them and offered a hand to Rose. He didn't even look twice at Scorpius and his out-of-place Slytherin tie.

"I just want to apologize for the way I've acted towards you. I should know that there's a way to get a girl's attention and I'm going about it in the wrong way. I haven't treated you with the respect you deserve and I regret that. I know we have no chance whatsoever of a relationship, but I was hoping you and I could be friends."

Rose just gaped. "I... er..." she stammered. "Sounds... good."

Miles beamed. "Thank you, Rose. Thank you so much." he squeezed Rose's hand before dropping it, and nodded politely to Scorpius and Albus, who both blinked.

"You don't understand either, right?" said Rose to both of them.

They shook their heads.

Rose shook hers, too, in disbelief. "I'm going to bed."

Al slumped against the couch pillows.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked, pressing a hand against Al's forehead. He pulled it away quickly. "Merlin, you're burning up!"

"My name's Albus," Al joked weakly.

"Shut up, you little bastard, we need to get you to Madam Pomfrey."

"No, I'm fine," Al protested, waving limp fingers in Scorpius' face.

"You're not," Scorpius said firmly. "Do you think you can walk?"

"'Course." Al rolled his eyes. "How pathetic do you think I am?"

Scorpius chose not to answer.

He also chose not to comment on how heavily Al leaned against him as they walked to the Hospital Wing, how hot Al's skin was, and how broken his breathing.

"Can I take a break?" Al begged when they'd gone only 100 meters from the portrait hole.

Scorpius sighed, and scooped an arm under Al's knees, lifting him up. He was struck with just how _light_ the other boy was. He'd expected perhaps a little more substance from a Chaser, but Al weighed about as much as a Seeker normally did. He suspected Al got it from his dad.

"What're you-"

"At that rate, we would get there sundown tomorrow," Scorpius said briskly, cutting him off. "Now shut up and rest."

Madam Pomfrey bustled right over to Scorpius as he held his friend in the doorway to the Hospital Wing.

"Why is he all wet?" she asked, bemused.

"He was outside flying," Scorpius said, gently laying him down on a bed.

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Like father, like son."

"Sc'rpius... wh're we?" Al muttered sleepily, forcing his eyes to stay open.

"Hospital Wing," Scorpius said softly, brushing Al's dark hair off his face. "I'll come visit you later, okay? Feel better."

"Where do you think you're going?" Madam Pomfrey demanded.

Scorpius jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Dinner?" he tried to say, but it came out as more of a question.

She clicked her tongue sternly. "I don't think so."

"What? Why?"

"You're probably sick too. You and Potter are practically joined at the hip." she put a hand on Scorpius' shoulder and forced him to sit. "You can't leave for a while, so you may as well get comfortable."

Scorpius groaned and leaned back against the crackling hospital sheets. He cursed himself for being the one to take Al to the Hospital Wing. He should have coerced some stupid Gryffindor into doing it.

He drummed his fingers against his leg.

Madam Pomfrey moved around him as if he were a part of the scenery of the room, administering potions to Al and attending to the other patients in the room. She ignored Scorpius.

Hours passed.

"I'm going down to Professor Lupin's to fetch some potions ingredients from him," Madam Pomfrey said, pulling her cloak off the hook by the door (it was always rather drafty down in the dungeons).

"But what about Al?"

"There's only so much you can do for a Muggle-originated illness such as the flu. I think in this case, we'll have to just wait it out. If he wakes up, give him some of that pain potion over there, but make sure he knows he can't have too much of it or too often."

Once he was relatively alone once more, Scorpius settled himself into a good long time of Albus-watching. He never really got to see Albus asleep, mostly because he and Al were in different houses. But he saw it now, and he knew he'd never see Al relaxed and peaceful-looking like this again.

Al was shaking, he realized. He wondered if that was a side-effect of being ill. Scorpius hadn't had a fever since he was five, so he couldn't remember.

No, Al was_ shivering_. He was cold.

Scorpius looked round for the nurse, before remembering where she'd gone. He peeled the blanket off of the bed nearest to him and threw it over his best friend. Still, the boy shook.

Scorpius took all the blankets off all the un-occupied beds in the infirmary and threw them over Al- five in all. Still, the boy shivered. His emerald eyes peered piteously out at Scorpius from between the bedsheets and something within him snapped. He kicked off his shoes and crawled under the covers with Al, pushing them over so they bundled only around the sick boy.

"What're you doing?" Al protested feebly. "I'll get you sick."

"I've already been exposed to whatever you've got," Scorpius said. "I'm trying to help."

He wrapped both his arms around the shivering boy and pulled him flush against his chest, trying hard to focus on the fact that Al was _sick_ and how completely _un-sexy_ that was. It worked, but only marginally. It didn't exactly help that Al immediately nuzzled his face into Scorpius' neck.

Scorpius yelped. "Good _Godric_, your skin is _burning_!"

Al mumbled something Scorpius didn't catch.

It wasn't long before Al's breathing settled into a slow, steady rhythm, telling Scorpius that he was asleep. Scorpius himself fell into some sort of stupor, staring at the white ceiling and thinking of nothing and everything at once. At some point Madam Pomfrey re-entered the room, but she didn't disturb either of them.

He must have fallen asleep, because he awoke to a hand on his arm. Lily was sitting beside Al's bed, a shit-eating grin on her face. "Well, don't you look cozy," she said.

Scorpius somehow managed to smack her upside the head without jostling Al, a feat he was rather proud of. "Get bent," he said.

"I would," Lily said, "but you've already done that, haven't you?" she raised her hands in the air defensively. "I'm just making observations about the world that I see. Anyone would think that you two were poofters."

"Oi-" Scorpius said, warningly.

"Oh, I know that you aren't," Lily said, "I know you're straight. But you know he isn't. How do you know he's not getting ideas from this?"

"I don't. But he's _sick_, Lily. What was I supposed to do, watch him suffer? He's my best friend."

Lily winked.

"Look, are you here to see Al or not?" Scorpius said, finally becoming fed up with her and her ideas about him and Al. "Because if you are, I'll wake him up. If you're not, shove it up your arse."

"Not," Lily said, standing up. "No, don't wake him. Just tell him I was here when he wakes up, okay?" she blew a kiss at Scorpius, then clacked out of the Hospital Wing in shoes that were entirely too adult for a thirteen year old girl.

Scorpius combed his fingers absentmindedly through Al's hair, thinking. Al was gay. He'd admitted it, and Lily had just hinted that maybe Al had feelings for him. So why hadn't Scorpius done anything about it yet?

Because Lily could be wrong. She was wrong about Scorpius being straight, so she could be wrong about Al's feelings towards Scorpius.

It was something really only gay people could understand. Just because a bloke was gay didn't mean he was attracted to every other bloke in the vicinity. Especially not the straight ones. Was Scorpius actually doing himself a disservice by dating a Rose? Had he already been scratched off Al's list as "unavailable"?

He looked down at Al, still cradled against his chest, only to find the green eyes staring back at him. He immediately stilled his hand's motions in Al's hair. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," Al's voice whispered back hoarsely. "Any reason you were stroking my head?"

"How are you feeling?" Scorpius asked, dodging the question.

Al rolled his eyes but let it slide. "Pretty horrible, actually. My head is pounding."

"Madam Pomfrey left a pain potion on your bedside table," Scorpius said, gesturing next to him. "But you can't have it too often or in large doses. Do you want it now?"

"Please," Al said, reaching up to hold his head and grimacing.

"It'll make you drowsy," Scorpius said in warning.

"Just give it to me already."

Scorpius passed it to him and he downed it readily, shuddering.

"What's it like?"

"Poison," Al said dramatically. "I knew she was trying to kill me. You can leave, you know. You don't have to stay with me."

"Actually, I do," Scorpius said. "I'm under Quarantine because I spend so much time around you. Thanks for that, actually," he added sarcastically.

Al winced. "Sorry."

"I don't mind," Scorpius said, pushing himself off the bed.

"Where're you going?" Al called.

"Taking a piss," Scorpius called back. "I hope you know, we're missing our Transfiguration exam."

"Damn," Al swore. "Why did you just tell me that? Now I'm stressed and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Because now I can tell you that McGonagall's face turned an interesting shade of fuchsia when she came to find us and we were lying in bed together. Just to cheer you up."

"Oh, dear," Al said, but looked slightly amused.

Madam Pomfrey hurried out of her office. "I thought I heard voices- Al, I'm glad you're up. Did Scorpius give you the pain potion?"

Scorpius held up the empty vial.

"Oh, good," she said, and waved her wand, attempting to take Al's temperature.

"Professor," said Al, avoiding the flying thermometer, "I'm missing my Transfiguration exam."

"No, you're not, Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, succeeding in shoving the thermometer underneath Al's tongue. "Professor McGonagall talked to me this morning. You've already got above a hundred percent in the class, she says she can exempt you from the final this year. She feels confident that you have learned the material. Now, _sit still_!"

"_Fine,"_ Al huffed, flopping back onto his pillows, and promptly fell asleep.

Madam Pomfrey felt his forehead. "He's burning up," she said worriedly. "He's most likely delusional. I can't leave him alone, but-" she looked around at her other patients. The infirmary was always particularly full at this time of year- students trying to get out of their examinations.

"I'll stay with him," Scorpius volunteered. "I'd be happy to."

"Would you?" Madam Pomfrey sighed in relief. "Just make sure he stays bundled up and give him a pain potion if he wakes up. Make sure he's comfortable. I'm sure you know what he likes best, he's your best friend."

She bustled away as Scorpius dropped into the chair next to Al, watching his face. It shone with sweat, but even as Scorpius watched, Al pulled the blankets closer around him. His forehead creased and he muttered something.

Scorpius sighed, resting his chin on his hand and reaching out with the other hand to take Al's.

"A fine mess you've got yourself into," he said, accusingly. "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you go and give yourself the flu, you daft git."

Al whimpered a little. Scorpius melted. "Fine, it isn't your fault, is that what you want me to say? Well, I won't- not when you're awake, anyway. I was sorted into Slytherin for a reason, you know." He looked at Al's face, then used the hand not clenched in Al's to reach forward and smooth away the wrinkles in his forehead.

"You look worried, Al," Scorpius said, softly. "What's eating you?"

"You and Rose," Al replied weakly, and Scorpius jumped. He hadn't been expecting an answer.

"Why?" Scorpius asked, leaning forward.

"Why her?" Al asked.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked eagerly, but Al was either asleep again or had never woken in the first place. Scorpius sighed, slumping back.

This wasn't working. Rose's idea was a flop. How had it taken him until June to figure that out? Nothing about this was working. Al wasn't jealous because he didn't fancy Scorpius, and even if he did Scorpius was only making matters worse for himself by dating Rose.

It all came back to one conclusion: he had to break up with Rose. And soon.

**A/N: I feel like this is almost a filler chapter, but a couple important things happened here. Anyway, review, because they make me happier and make me update faster! Sank you kindly. Or spank you kindly. Whichever you're into more.**

**AH. I need to stop drinking hot chocolate before I write because it messes with my head. So sorry about that. **


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